


Babysitting

by sheskyripa



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Andrew is Laurent stan, Child Neglect, Enemies to Lovers, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Minor Character Death, Nathan is his own warning, Neil is reading Captive Prince, Past Child Abuse, Spoilers Of Captive Prince, Texting, but not really, kevin and neil are brothers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 20:33:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29407710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sheskyripa/pseuds/sheskyripa
Summary: Neil Josten had a secret.A secret so well kept that not even his incredibly nosy friends had discovered it. A secret that would get him stabbed, for sure. A secret that made him sweat cold throughout the practice and stay awake all night.He had a crush on Andrew Minyard.
Relationships: Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Comments: 67
Kudos: 244





	1. PROLOGUE

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kindersjosten10](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kindersjosten10/gifts).



> This plot is a gift to my [squad](https://twitter.com/pistoleires) as well as being created by someone there. Flav, I hope it lives up to your expectations and squad - aka the ichirou's br little world - thanks for all the encouragement to make this story happen. 
> 
> also, this chapter was proofread by a friend of mine, so any mistakes, blame it on her - lie, rafa, you are god, I love you, thank you for proofreading. (but, if there is any mistake, let me know so I can correct it)

Neil Josten had a secret.

A secret so well kept that not even his incredibly nosy friends had discovered it. A secret that would get him stabbed, for sure. A secret that made him sweat cold throughout the practice and stay awake all night. 

He had a crush on Andrew Minyard. 

He likes how smart Andrew was. How there was a crease between his eyebrows while he read a book and how that crease softened when he read a quote that pleased him. How he likes ice cream and cars. He likes how talented Andrew was at Exy and even more at the piano (the last one Neil discovered by accident while he was hiding from the school nurse - who happened to be his adoptive mother too - in the music room) and how he protected people who he cared for. 

He likes how low but firm Andrew's voice was. How golden his eyes looked in the sunlight. The expression on his face when someone on the team spoke or did something stupid just like he was judging them in his mind but didn't care about them enough to comment. 

Lately, he likes how handsome Andrew was. It was unfair how beautiful Andrew was in Neil's eyes, even though he didn't think the same thing about Aaron, Andrew's twin. It was confusing and irritating and Neil felt like he was going to implode whenever he was forced to sit for two hours with Andrew in Sex Education, History, and Literature classes. But it was controllable, at least. Neil spent part of his life running away until his uncle stepped in and the FBI put him on the witness protection program, all of this before Abby and Wymack adopted him, so Neil knew how to hide things and keep secrets and thank God for that, but this didn't make the situation  _ comfortable. _

Neil had to control himself more than once to avoid putting his hands in Andrew's hair and running his fingers through the golden strands. 

Neil didn't know what Andrew would do if he knew Neil liked him. Andrew seemed to hate Neil most of the time, always going out of his way if Neil arrived, retracting Neil's comments with something sarcastic or just ignoring him. 

That's why Neil almost panicked when his Sex Education teacher came into the room that Wednesday morning, with a smile from someone who knew he was going to make someone's life - or everyone else's life - hell and a bag full of baby dolls on their shoulders and casually said that they would have to do a work together. 

“All I'm asking you to do is take care of that doll just like it's your child," he said, holding one of the dolls up to his face. “This job is to show you how important condom use is, since getting pregnant seems more frightening than getting STDs.” 

The room laughed. Neil didn't understand what was funny about that sentence. 

"How is the doubles division going to be?" asked Katelyn, raising her hand. Neil heard from Allison that she heard from one of the cheerleaders that Katelyn likes Andrew's brother, Aaron. Neil could see her biting her lip as she looked at Aaron, sitting at the table in front of her. "Can we choose?" 

"No, you can't," replied the teacher. "Your pair will be your partner table." 

There were some upset sounds and some satisfying sounds. Neil paid no attention to anyone, very focused on Andrew's reaction - he had a clenched jaw and clenched fists. Neil suppressed a sigh. 

"You should name your child, change diapers, feed, burp, and sleep," he said, walking between the rows of tables delivering the dolls. “You should calm the child down when they cry or are in pain. You should make videos while doing these tasks, with time and date. The work lasts until the end of the summer. ”

Andrew made no move to touch the toy, so Neil took the doll under his arm and lifted it, looking at it with a frown. 

“I'm gay, I don't need this,” said a boy named Kol, at the back of the room when the teacher handed the doll to him and his partner, a girl named Lua. “It's not like I'm going to get someone pregnant if I don't use a condom. " 

The teacher's resigned sigh was heard by the whole class. “You think that just proves what I said, you seem to be more afraid of getting pregnant than STDs. Take the doll, Mr. Dawson and I expect exemplary performance from you after that unnecessary comment. ” 

He resumed class after that, something about sexuality and gender, probably because of Kol's comment. 

Neil was not paying attention, too busy trying not to show how anxious this job left him. He would have to spend more time with Andrew,  _ talk  _ to him than just a few words during practice. 

"What should we name them?" Neil asked Andrew in a low voice, who just looked at him for two seconds before ignoring him. Neil sighed. "Look, I know you hate me, but we're going to have to make this work." 

"I don't need to do anything," he replied, still not looking at Neil. 

"Okay, I don't know what the teacher is going to do with you for abandoning your child's other daddy at such a difficult time, but I can bet he will give me extra points for taking on the role of a single parent," Neil said, scoffing, but got the result he wanted when Andrew looked at him with raised eyebrows. 

“No one likes a smart mouth, Josten. Don't test my patience or our child will become an orphan when I go to jail for killing you. ” 

Nei smiled. 

"I was told that I have a bit of an attitude problem, so get used to my smart mouth or our child will be forever traumatized." 

Andrew snorted, rolling his eyes and looking straight ahead. 

Neil waited five minutes before turning completely to Andrew, a falsely innocent smile on his face. "We still have to choose our child's name." 

Andrew looked at him as if he were stupid. “You are taking this very seriously. It's just a doll, I'll call it Thing. ” 

“We cannot call our child Thing, Andrew! This will traumatize them. ” Neil said, pointing a finger at Andrew in a mock reprimand. "Would you like your parents to have named you  _ Thing?" _

Andrew's gaze hardened and Neil knew at that moment that he had crossed a line that he didn't even know existed. 

"I don't have a father and even if my egg donor had called me  _ Thing _ it would be the least of my problems with her," that said, he started to pack up his notebooks and stuffed them in his backpack, standing and walking away from the table in the same time that the bell rang. 

-

At the end of the day, Neil received messages from an unknown number. 

_ The name is going to be Ari _

_ don’t ask me why because I won’t answer  _

_ and I want shared custody  _

_ is Andrew, btw _

_ don’t reply to this message, I’m blocking your  _

_ number right now.  _

Neil laughed, causing Kevin to look at him strangely as they walked home. Neil shrugged, not bothering to explain.


	2. CHAPTER ONE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, the idea is that the fic will have small chapters (except chapter 4, I lost control and it got really huge. no regrets, though) and I hope you like the dynamics I gave to them :)
> 
> Let me know about any grammatical errors, this chapter has not been properly corrected.

Neil couldn't sleep that night. 

Something was bothering him, but he couldn't say what it was. It was nothing like the nights he spent sleepless, wondering what it would be like if Andrew ever spoke to him without being passive-aggressive or sarcastic. No, it was  _ real _ and he had no idea what it was. 

The only thing he knew was that he had crossed without knowing a limit with Andrew and made him want to rip out his tongue.

Abby would call that feeling of guilt. Neil didn't like the word - nor the feeling. 

Sighing, Neil stepped out from under the duvet and started doing push-ups on the bedroom floor, in an attempt to tire his body and finally get to sleep. But when he reached the hundred-push-up mark and he still felt he couldn't sleep, he let himself lie on the cold floor and breathe. 

A few minutes later, Neil got up, turned on the bedside lamp with one hand, and took out his cell phone with the other before lying back on the bed. He replied to some unread messages from the group with his friends and some private messages until he saw the messages Andrew had sent him. 

Neil bit his lip as he considered whether or not to believe Andrew's word when he said he would block Neil's number. 

He decided it wouldn't hurt to try. 

_ I can not sleep. _

_ I don't see how this is my problem. _

_ I thought you were going to block my number?  _

_ thanks for reminding me _

_ I'm doing it now. _

_ that number blocked you _

Neil snorted, dropping his cell phone and pulling the duvet up to his neck, determined to sleep. He then started replaying Exy games on his head so that he ignored the feeling still in his chest. 

He was just about to fall asleep when his cell phone lit up with a message. 

_ why are you awake _

_ without sleep  _

_ why are you awake  _

_ without sleep. _

_ why did you unlock my number? _

_ because your existence makes me sleepy  _

_ feel flattered  _

_ it was not a compliment  _

_ idiot  _

_ that number blocked you _

Neil was definitely an idiot for laughing at that little interaction. A passionate idiot, actually, but at least he managed to sleep after that. 

-

  
  


Neil arrived at history class earlier that day, knowing that Andrew would already be there. 

"We need to talk about the terms of our shared custody," he said, placing Ari the doll in front of Andrew at the table. “And you  _ definitely  _ shouldn't be smoking here. Our child is in the room, cigarette smoke is not good for his health. ” Neil punctuated his sentence by pointing a finger at Andrew and with the other hand on his waist, imitating the position Abby did when rebuking Kevin. 

Andrew made his typical judgmental expression, raising an eyebrow for three seconds as he stared at Neil. Then he blew smoke on Neil's face. 

"That was not an educated thing to do," Neil said, trying to brush the smoke away with his hand. Luckily, they sat by the window and Andrew had opened it. 

Andrew shrugged. "As anyone at this school will tell you if you ask, I am not an educated person." 

Neil was not intimidated. "You take care of Ari today," he said, opening the backpack and taking out a video camera from her. "Don't go out if you have a camera, but even if you do, it's easier for me to edit if it's all in one file, so get it." Neil held the camera out to Andrew, who just looked at the object as if he had personally offended it. "Get the damn camera, Minyard." 

Neil would bet all his allowance that Andrew took the camera in a reflexive motion due to the surprise of having someone talking to him in that tone. He suppressed a satisfied smile before pulling out his chair and sitting down.

"Language," Andrew said after a few minutes. Neil, who had already opened his sketchbook and had started to scribble some sketches, raised his head and looked at him with a confused expression. "You said an ugly word in front of our child." Andrew now had the doll nestled in his arms and one of his hands was rubbing the doll's back as if it were calming. “And then they say I'm rude. Puff." 

Neil's mouth was open. Literally with his mouth open as he stared at Andrew, with the emptiest expression he has ever seen him do in his life, nest and calm the doll. 

Maybe Neil really did have those problems, after all. Seeing Andrew nestle a doll while scolding Neil for his language made  _ things _ happen in Neil's stomach. The size of the hole where Neil was falling because of Andrew increased a few good meters. 

“The goldfish expression out of the water doesn't suit you, Josten,” Andrew said, but he didn't have that tone that Neil was used to hearing from him. Weird. 

"Well, I never thought I'd see the day when you cradled a doll in your arms but here we are."

Andrew, as if to prove a point, even though Neil didn't know what point it was, tucked the doll even closer against his chest. 

Neil was  _ definitely  _ in trouble. 

He was saved from hearing the reply that was surely about to come out of Andrew's mouth when the signal for the start of class rang. He hadn't even realized that there were more people in the room until then. 

A look back at Andrew showed that he had hidden the doll under the table, lying on his stomach on Andrew's legs. 

If Neil were asked, he would not be able to say what Mr. Harvey was working that day. He couldn't take the image - which in any other situation or anyone else would be pathetic - of Andrew cuddling Ari in the arms of his head. He would draw the picture when he got home with absolute certainty. 

When the bell rings, Andrew looks at him as if they are sharing a secret, holding Ari with one hand against his chest while the other gives a mocking salute with two fingers at his temple to Neil before mixing between the sea of students switching rooms. 

Neil sighs. He's a screwed up man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you can find me on [ Twitter ](https://twitter.com/sheskyripa)


	3. CHAPTER TWO

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kevin is a great brother to Neil!

Andrew unlocks Neil's number that morning. 

Neil was hunched over his study table, drawing the image of Andrew with Ari on his chest when his cell phone lit up. He ignored the device at first, thinking it was Matt or Seth, but when the cell continued to flash with each new message, Neil decided to look. 

_ image 2354.jpg _

_ Ari inherited his bad habits from you. _

In the photo, Ari was sitting across from Andrew at what Neil supposed was the dining table at his house, completely dirty from what Neil desperately hoped was chocolate, from mouth to chest. Ari was also wearing a disposable diaper. 

_ is this chocolate ????? _

_ yeah _

_ so ari didn't inherit from me _

_ i hate chocolate  _

_ i said ari inherited you **habits** _

_ not you questionable taste  _

_ why are you giving ari chocolate? _

_ he is a baby he cannot eat that  _

_ who said  _

_ my mother _

_ you know, the school nurse  _

_ I know who your mother is josten _

_ it does not make me believe in this atrocity that  _

_ babies cannot eat chocolate  _

_ image 2355 jpg _

_ ANDREW  _

_ this child will grow up with diabetes  _

_ and I will not be responsible for that when _

_ our pediatrician complains about it  _

_ u r weird  _

_ image 2356 jpg _

_ ari burped  _

The new photo showed Ari leaning over Andrew's shoulder, taking part of his chin. Neil may or may not have been staring at the photo any longer than he should have. 

_ burping? _

_ holy shit josten _

_ that number blocked you _

Neil laughed softly, blocking his cell phone and going back to the drawing. 

When he finished, it was almost three in the morning. Neil stretched and got to his feet, doing a few more stretches to ease his muscles after having spent almost five hours drawing. 

Then he left his room and walked towards the kitchen in search of the orange juice his mother had made for dinner that night and Neil knew he was left, but to his surprise, Kevin was there, talking on the phone with the expression least Kevin that Neil has ever seen on his brother's face. 

He was even smiling silly and biting his lip. 

Neil closed his eyes at his brother and leaned against the doorframe, waiting to see how long it would take for Kevin to realize he was there. 

"You think?" Kevin asked in a disgustingly sweet voice as he blushed. Kevin Wymack-Day blushing? This was new. Neil had seen Kevin flirt before, more times than he would have liked, but he never played shy. "I'm not that good," he continued and Neil almost snorted loudly. Kevin Day shy  _ and _ modest? Definitely strange. 

  
  


Kevin chuckled and blushed even more. Neil couldn't take it, laughing loud enough for Kevin to notice him, but not loud enough to wake his parents. Kevin panicked at Neil, stammering at the person on the other end of the line and hanging up. 

“Kev, Kev, are you in  _ love?"  _ Neil asked with a smirk on his lips. Kevin stammered some things that Neil couldn't understand, but that were probably denials as Neil circled him to get to the fridge. "Relax, I won't tell anyone."

"You are not going to tell anyone because there is nothing to tell," he said, but the red around his cheeks contradicted him. Neil decided not to comment on this, knowing that Kevin would tell him when he thought best. Until then, all he could do was show support. 

"Alright." Neil took a sip of the juice, straight from the jar. He could almost hear his mother's scolding coming from the direction of the bedroom. "But when you do, know that I will be here to listen." 

Kevin smiled, getting up from the table and walking to Neil's side in front of the refrigerator. Neil offered the jar of juice and Kevin took it, taking a sip and then returning it to Neil. "Don't be too long, if our parents wake up, we'll be screwed," he says, ruffling Neil's hair and leaving him alone in the kitchen next. 

Neil laughed, put the jar in the sink, and went back to the bedroom. 

-

There was an unread message from Andrew when Neil woke up the next morning. It was another picture of Ari lying on his side, with the plastic hand placed over Andrew's cheek. The photo was focused on Ari, but you can still see Andrew's nose and part of his cheek. 

Neil sighed before reading the messages that accompanied the photo. 

_ ari likes me more than you  _

_ nothing surprising _

_ as you are already awake at 5:15 am _

_ i am a responsible father who wakes up to  _

_ feed my child when he wants _

_ what an irresponsible dad of you not knowing _

_ our child's schedules  _

_ what a disappointment josten _

_ know i'm rolling my eyes _

_ at you at this moment minyard _

_ very mature of you _

_ i am seventeen of _

_ course i am not mature _

_ although between me and kevin  _

_ i am the mature brother  _

_ i have no doubts about that _

_ can feel your sarcasm all the way  _

_ to here _

_ at least you are smart  _

_ was that a compliment? _

_ andrew minyard, are you complimenting me? _

_ I take back what I said  _

_ that number blocked you _

Neil laughed. 

He was still laughing when he met Kevin for his morning run and he couldn't help but think about the irony of it - yesterday, Neil found Kevin laughing in the wind and today, Neil was the one who was laughing. 

Kevin made no comment, but Neil still gave him a small push when his arched eyebrow didn't leave his face. 

They took two turns around the block before deciding it was time to go home. Once there, Neil sat on the doorsteps of the house to catch his breath. Kevin remained standing, drinking and splashing water on his face and hair. 

Then he sat next to Neil in the doorway. "I was talking to Jean last night," Kevin says, without looking at Neil and biting his lip. The red was back on his cheeks and Neil smiled when he saw it. “You know we used to hang out before he moved, right? And now that he's back, we're trying to pick up where we were, but it's so… ”

“ Different? ” adds Neil when it is obvious that Kevin has not found a word to define. He agrees, but Neil can see that it is not yet. “You have changed. If it's been three years, Kevin, you can't expect things to be the same. I can give you some advice?"

Kevin laughs. "Advice from someone who never dated," he scoffs, but at Neil's hard stare, he waves his hand. "Go ahead." 

“Meet him again and let him meet the new Kevin. Go slowly, without continuing to hit the key to try to be what you used to be. ” 

Kevin didn't respond immediately and Neil left him with his thoughts, getting up from the jamb and starting to do his post-race stretches. When he finished, he took the water bottle from Kevin, the movement brought him back to reality. "You're right," he says, smiling at Neil. "Thanks." 

Neil smiled and bit his lip, considering whether to tell Kevin his best-kept secret. He knew Kevin wouldn't tell anyone or make it a big deal, but Neil still hesitated. As far as Kevin knew, Neil didn't date or be interested in people. 

But Kevin was his brother and if there was one person Neil would trust that secret, it was him.

"Kevin," he called him by his full name to let Kevin know he wanted to talk. It was something they had been doing since Neil's first week living with them, at that time, Neil became attached to Kevin instantly and didn’t really trust the big, tall man who was Wymack, so Kevin said that whenever Neil wanted to leave the room or talk, call him by his full name. "I like Andrew." 

Kevin looked up and stared at Neil for a few seconds, blinking and with his mouth slightly open. "You," he begins, pointing a finger at Neil. “Do you like… Andrew? Andrew Minyard? "

Neil is visibly nervous, starting to play with the hem of the old shirt he uses for running and shifting his weight from one foot to the other. He doesn't even look at Kevin when he replies, knowing that his face must be as red as his hair. "Yeah. Andrew Minyard." 

Kevin lets out a shriek and stands up, holding Neil. “I never thought I would see that day. Neil, I am so happy for you. ” Neil, being much shorter than Kevin, Neil now has his face buried in his brother's chest as he squeezes it. "Come on, tell me everything, how it started, how you realized, when you are going to tell him ..." 

Neil walks away. “Tell him? Kevin, are you crazy? Andrew hates me. ” 

Kevin joins his eyebrows. "Did he tell you that?" he asks and before Neil can answer, he raises his hand and continues. “You know what, it doesn't matter. You are doing a job together, right? This is your chance. Conquer him. ” 

"Kev, I don't know how to do that," Neil said, sitting on the doorstep, his shoulders hunched. "I'm not like you, flirting with anyone with a mouth." 

"You don't have to flirt with him, just be yourself," Kevin says, softly. "Let him see the wonderful person who you are and he won't be able to help to fall in love with you." 

Neil sighs and hides his face in his hands. Kevin laughs and ruffles Neil's hair as he passes him and enters the house. 

“Come on, chili,” says Kevin, keeping the door open. "We have class and you have a man to conquer."


	4. CHAPTER THREE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Truth for truth game!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: mentions of Neil and Andrew's past - child's violence and neglect. 
> 
> OKAY THERE WAS NOT TO BE A CHAPTER TODAY, BUT TODAY IS ARI'S BIRTHDAY (aka the person who made me choose the name Ari for Andrew and Neil's child in this fic) AND I AM DEDICATING THIS CHAPTER TO THEM! - Today is also Kevin Day's birthday, so today is twice as special. I hope you enjoy it. 
> 
> Feliz Aniversario, Ari. Eu te amo.

Andrew didn't go to the school that day, which made Kevin mumble all day about “dressing Neil beautifully for nothing,” but at least he had unlocked Neil's number (again) and texted. 

_ you will have to come and get ari here at home  _

why

_ I have a therapist today and I am not going to class _

_ and it is your day to be with ari _

_ ok _

Neil bit his lip while he considered whether he should send something more or if he should just keep his cell phone and pay attention in class. Kevin told Neil that he should let Andrew see what he looked like, but how would he do that? Maybe sending some more messages is not a bad idea. 

Deciding that he could just study the content at home, he started typing. 

_ I'm reading this book and I remembered you _

_ when I read this quote  _

_ “Laurent could inspire homicidal tendencies simply by breathing.” _

_ this must be the smartest thing you ever told me.  _

_ I have one for you too.  _

_ here, dialogues that would easily happen between us.  _

_ ““ Is there anyone at this court who isn't my enemy? " _

_ " Not if I can help it, "Laurent said." _

_ "Kkkkkkkkkk _

_ you've read caprince apparently.  _

_ what say? Worthwhile? _

_ Laurent De Vere never wrong and if he wrong _

_ was trying to hit _

_ consider that a yes.  _

_ :) _

Neil  _ definitely  _ not spent the rest of the day in a good mood because of that smiling face but when Kevin asked why he smiled, he couldn’t answer. 

At the end of the day, Neil saw Kevin and Jean walk together and his smile only increased. When he met them at the school gate, Kevin and he exchanged a meaningful look. and Neil learned there that his advice had worked out. "Hey, tell Mom I'm not going to be home late, okay? I have to do something." 

Kevin looked at him with a raised eyebrow but shrugged and didn't question him. Neil continued talking to them for a few more minutes before walking away and starting walking towards Andrew's house. 

Neil had never visited the twins' house. And he only knew where it was because it was in front of the playground that Abby used to take Neil in the first few months of his living with her and Wymack. 

Andrew's house was a standard two-floor house, with a white fence and a front yard. There was also a porch in front of the house, which was where Neil was sitting when Andrew opened the door after Neil texted him that he was there because he was too embarrassed to ring the bell, and all of the air was taken from Neil's lungs. 

Andrew was wearing gray sweatpants from Palmetto's Exy team and a black tank top from some band Neil didn't know, but that wasn't the worst part, no. Neil might not even have noticed what he was wearing if he hadn't looked up from the floor when Andrew opened the door, then had him run his eyes over Andrew's body when he looked up. 

The worst part was that Andrew was wearing glasses. Neil had never seen Andrew wearing glasses. 

Fuck. 

Andrew raised an eyebrow at Neil as he continued to stand in front of the door, staring at Andrew with what was probably an expression of complete despair. Andrew even dared to look smug about it. 

(Why Andrew seemed smug? There was no way he knows that Neil was secretly in love with him, could he? Kevin would not have said anything and betrayed Neil's trust then how ...?)

"You going to stand there all night, Josten? ” asked Andrew, taking Neil out of his desperate thoughts. 

Neil blinked and cleared his throat, letting Andrew's words filter through his brain, and when he did, he brought his brows together. "I thought I just had to get Ari...?" 

Andrew rolled his eyes. "In case you forgot, we can't just do separate parts," he said, making room for Neil to enter the house. “We need to record scenes together, too. So, come on in, it's cold out here. ” 

Neil started to move through the door. 

Once inside, Neil noticed that the front door opened onto a long hallway that ended with a staircase to the second floor. There was a door in the middle of the hall, but Neil was unable to see which room that door led to because Andrew pushed him and forced him to continue walking up the stairs. 

Neil raised an eyebrow at Andrew, questioning. Andrew rolled his eyes. "Nicky - my cousin and guardian - is in that room and he is the most nosy person in the world," he says, starting up the stairs. "We will never finish the job if he knows you are here." 

Neil followed behind Andrew in silence, accepting the explanation with a slight shrug. 

On the second floor, there was another hallway with four doors and a wall full of pictures. - There were pictures of the twins from childhood to adolescence. There were pictures of two men wearing a white suit and a rainbow flag on their shoulders in what looked like a wedding ceremony. Up ahead, there was a second photo of the two men, but this time the twins were with them. Neil thought that they shouldn't be more than seven years old there. 

"Josten," Andrew says, scowling, standing by the open door of what is probably his room. "Stop looking at these pictures and come over here." 

Andrew's room was not large, it should have been half the size of Neil's room, but it was arranged in such a way that he had enough space to move freely within the room. There was a single bed against the wall on the right, under a suspended bookcase full of books. Next to it was a desk that was right under the window, with more books, notebooks and a lamp. To the left, there was a wardrobe that shared space on that wall with a keyboard. On the floor, a blue carpet covered most of the free space. 

Andrew let Neil look around the room for a full minute before rolling his eyes and sitting on the chair in front of the desk. Once there, he took Neil's camera out of one of the drawers and held it out to Neil. "Let's do this at once, we don't have much time before Nicky realizes that someone is in the house." 

Neil shrugged, picking up the camera. "How do you want to do this?" he asked as he turned on the camera and checked the card for space. "What tasks do you want to film?" 

"We can change the diaper and feed," Andrew says, and something in Neil's silence must have delivered him. "You don't know how to change a diaper, do you?" 

"I've never seen a baby in my life if I'm being fair," Neil replies, sitting on the bed and ignoring the harsh look Andrew gave him for messing up the sheets. 

"Put the camera on to record, I'll teach you how to change a diaper," Andrew gets to his feet and opens the wardrobe, pulling Ari out. “And before you think I'm being nice, I'm not. I'm sure I will earn extra points for being helpful. ” 

If Neil hadn't been smiling before, he was now - Neil vividly remembered making a similar comment to Andrew. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me." 

"What a fucking secret," Andrew asks, scowling. Neil laughs. 

"That deep down you are a nice person," Neil says and dodges when Andrew throws himself at him. Neil stands, laughing, while Andrew gives him an angry look. 

“85%, Josten. This is how much I hate you. ” 

"What about the other 15%?" Neil asks, putting his hand on his waist and raising an eyebrow at Andrew, who throws a pillow at Neil. 

“86%,” is his answer and Neil considers it a victory. 

He also pretends that his heart is not beating desperately in his chest and that his stomach is not doing things.

They focused on work after that. Neil rested the camera on top of Andrew's keyboard, bringing him to the middle of the room so that the image was framed. Andrew put Ari to bed and took a cloth diaper that Neil had no idea where he had taken it from and started explaining to Neil how he did it. Afterward, Neil pretended to feed Ari with a bottle and then burped him. 

When Neil turned off the camera, he turned to Andrew. "How do you know so much about babies' caring?" 

Andrew did not respond immediately, too busy trying to fix the dents they had left on the bedsheet. Neil even though he wouldn't answer, so started to pack the camera and put the keyboard back in place. 

"Let's do this," Andrew says after Neil finishes cleaning up his part in the mess. “I answer a question that you asked me and you answer me a question. A truth for a truth. ” 

Neil shrugs and sits on the desk chair when Andrew sends him. "All right." 

"Aaron and I had a little sister," he starts, lying on the bed and looking at the ceiling. “I was five years old when she was born, but that didn't stop my dear mom from placing her under my responsibility. I was the one who changed the diaper and feed her, Tilda didn't even bother to breastfeed her, with the excuse that she was very sad about the loss of our father, but that was just it: an excuse. ” 

"And what happened to her?" 

"It gives me one more question," Andrew says, but when Neil doesn't dispute that, he sighs and continues. “She died six months later. She was born premature and was ill, and without the care of an adult, she had no chance. ” 

Neil didn't say 'I'm sorry.' Something in the way Andrew spoke said that he wouldn't want to hear that. "It's your turn," is what Neil says to Andrew instead. 

Andrew doesn't react, probably wondering what to ask. Neil pulls out his cell phone and answers some messages while he waits.

After a few minutes, Andrew sits on the bed and looks at Neil, looking deep into Neil's eyes when he starts talking. "Who gave you these scars?" 

Neil tensed momentarily, but he forced his body to cooperate with him. 

It was no secret, at least not among the team, that Neil had scars. It was almost impossible for them not to know about them because they are so in evidence about almost all of Neil's body. He tried to hide it at first, but Kevin put his hand on Neil's shoulder and told him that no one would say anything unless they wanted Kevin to do something about it. He had eleven years at the time and had Kevin as a sort of hero, even though he was only a year older, so he took off his equipment after practice and went to the shower. 

No one said anything as Kevin said they would. 

"My biological father and then life on running. ” Neil says in a low but flat voice. Few people knew about his true story, not the one Wymack told when he enrolled Neil in the same Kevin's school. For the rest of the world outside his family and some FBI members, Wymack and Abby had adopted Neil from an orphanage they visited in London and Abby had become attached to the boy instantly. That’s not how it happened. Andrew said nothing, hoping Neil would contextualize in his own time. 

“My biological father… he was a psychopath with an anger problem and I was his easiest target. If he had a bad day at work, he would hit me with his belt; if I did something that upset him, he would use his lighter. Once, he used iron." Neil winced at the muscle memory. Neil was too young at the time to have any real memory of the whole thing. He put his hand on his right shoulder, right over the hot iron brand. "The last straw for my mom was when he used a blowtorch. Part of my thigh is deformed to this day, as you probably already know. " Neil chuckled, but Andrew just kept looking at him, eyebrows drew together. "My mom caught me and ran away after the family doctor took care of me." 

"And what happened to your mother?" asked Andrew, mirroring Neil's question. 

"She died. We were on witness protection for almost a year when my father's friends located us. She only had time to call the Agent in charge of our security before they broke into the house. The police just arrived in time to save me. ” 

Neil was staring at Andrew's bedroom door, only now noticing that there was a huge poster for a band called 5 seconds of summer pasted in. He ignored the erratic rhythm of his heart, caused by both the story and the fact that Andrew was watching Neil with that intense expression that would surely have made Neil's knees buckle if he were standing. 

"Your turn," said Andrew, and Neil almost fell off his chair at the intensity of Andrew's voice. That combined with his expression made it looks like he was about to commit murder. 

Neil blinked a few times and controlled his breathing so that his heart didn't look like it was going to explode at any moment. "What happened after your sister died?" 

"After Ania died, Tilda, my incubator, got three times worse. She started drinking and smoking all day and taking out her frustration on us. She hit me too, sometimes, but it was Aaron who took most of it. There wasn't much I could do: I was six and we didn't live close to any relatives, but that changed when she got a call that I still don't know what she was saying. She took Aaron and me and we brought us to Columbia, where her brother, Nicky's father, by the way, lived. I thought I would finally have a chance to stop her. ” 

“But that's not what happened,” Andrew continued. “When I tried to tell Luther what she did to us and what happened to Ania, he slapped me and said that his sister would never do such a thing and that I should stop being a lying child. ”

Neil was on fire; if he saw Luther at that moment, he would be able to attack the man. But then again, he thought Andrew wouldn't like it, so he controlled his temper as best he could. 

"How did Nicky get into the story?" he asked, aware that he was asking two questions  _ again,  _ but judging by Andrew's lack of reaction, he didn't seem to care. 

“Nicky lived in Germany at the time, so I didn't know him until he came to visit his mother one day. Aaron and I were there while Tilda worked, or so she said, and we saw the whole thing. It turns out that Uncle Luther was also a shitty homophobe and he and Nicky had a nasty fight, but that didn't stop Nicky from coming to talk to us. He immediately noticed the bruise on Aaron's chin and the way he cringed when he raised his hand to stroke his hair. The next day, the police and a social worker pulled us out of it and Nicky got our provisional custody. He officially adopted us a year later, when her husband came from Germany. How did you get into witness protection and how did you get to Wymack, ” asks Andrew, without missing a beat. 

Neil sighs. "Well, that's a long story." Neil laughs awkwardly. “My mother and I ran away for four years before my uncle, her brother, found us and convinced her to testify against my father. It turns out that he wasn't just violent with me; there were about six murders linked to him and a few more under investigation, but there was no hard evidence to mount a case directly against him. My mother's testimony was what finally made the FBI able to arrest him. ” Neil paused to breathe. "When my mother died, my father was already doomed and with his 'friends,'" Neil made quotes in the air. "Also in prison, they considered that I didn't need to be in the program anymore, so they decided to put me in the system. My luck was that one of the Agents had a sister who wanted to adopt a child with her husband and he made the bridge between me and the Wymack's. That's the story. " 

Neil expected Andrew to comment on how fucked up Neil's past was or to look at him with the same expression that social workers did when they read in his record that he was the son of a murderer, but it never came. Andrew just looked at him as if he understood. 

Neil was tired of that heavy conversation, so he decided to change his style of questioning, although not much; Teen problems weren't exactly a much better subject, but Neil had to know. "Why you hate me?" 

Andrew blinked, the only indication that he was surprised by the question. Then he drew his eyebrows together and placed himself in a sitting position, with his legs off the bed. He swallowed and if Neil didn't know better, he would say Andrew was… shy? But Andrew Minyard was not shy; he was sarcastic and answered people with the raw truth when asked directly. "Why does it matter?" 

Neil swallowed. He knew he was going in a dangerous direction with that question. "You don't answer my question."

"Answer mine and I'll answer yours." 

"It was my turn," Neil pointed out. 

"But I need to know what your answer will be before I answer." 

That was it. Neil was screwed. 

If he did, Andrew had a high chance of answering Neil's question with: That's why, but if Neil didn't tell, he would never be sure. 

"Because it hurts," Neil whispers with his head down, not daring to look at Andrew's face as the confession comes out. "It hurts when I walk into a place and you leave right away, it hurts when you look at me like I'm nothing more than a nuisance, it hurts ..." 

"Neil," Andrew interrupts him as he extends his hand and pulls out the chair where Neil is sitting next to him. Once in front of him, Andrew lifts Neil's head, but he keeps his eyes closed, even when he feels Andrew's forehead pressed against his. "Why it hurts?" 

"Because I like you," Neil says, still whispering. He feels more than he hears when Andrew takes a deep breath, just moments before he feels Andrew's lips press lightly against his. 

The kiss begins only with a brush of Andrew's lips against his as if he were afraid Neil would disappear, but it doesn't take long for Neil to start instigating Andrew, sliding his lips against Andrew's with a little more force; Andrew needs no further encouragement, taking Neil's face with both hands and turning his head and finally - finally - deepening the kiss. 

Neil gets out of the chair and settles on Andrew's lap on the bed without interrupting the kiss. Andrew holds him by the thighs and Neil will later think it is just as good thing that he did it because Neil wouldn't be able to stand there on his own, too focused on sliding his lips against Andrew's. 

But Neil forces himself to walk away because Andrew has not yet responded. He says this in a whisper through their heavy breathing. 

"I never hated you, not really," Andrew says, placing his forehead against Neil's shoulders. “I thought it would be easier if you were an asshole with me back, but you never were. Not once. Then I got so frustrated and was a hell being in the same room as you. ” 

"Easier why?" 

"Because I thought you would never want me back, so I just wanted a reason to stop to want you," Andrew says and Neil is lost. Neil's mind turns into a mess because Andrew likes him, likes him,  _ likes him. _ Neil is unable to formulate an answer because all he can think is that Andrew Minyard likes him. "One day, I went to school willing to tell you, but then I heard you telling Marissa that you don't date, so I gave up." 

Neil drew his eyebrows together and pulled Andrew's head from his neck. Neil met Andrew's gaze and for a moment he forgot what he was going to say, lost in the golden sea that was Andrew's eyes. "But it was like, three years ago." He said after himself to think and look away from Andrew's eyes. 

"Yeah," was the idea of Andrew's answer. 

Neil was astonished. 

"Are you like me for three years?!"

Andrew laughed. 

"I've liked you since I was thirteen, Neil," Andrew says, touching Neil's cheek with his index finger. "I spent a year gathering courage to talk to you, but ... Well." 

Neil was  _ upset. " _ Does that mean we could have done this all this time?" Neil jumps out of bed and puts his hands on his hips walking from side to side. 

"Are you upset?" Andrew asks, still sitting on the bed, 

"Of course! If you had told me ..." 

"I just heard from your mouth that you weren't dating, Neil, how was I going to tell you?" Andrew got to his feet, facing Neil. 

"Do you know why I don't date, Andrew?" Neil asks, moving closer to Andrew and taking his face in his hands, "Because the only person I wanted was you. Since I was thirteen, it was just you." 

Andrew kissed him and they did not do anything for a long time. 


	5. CHAPTER FOUR

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> LET THEY BE LOVING TEENAGERS!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YES, I don't give Ari a gender ON PURPOSE! so I'll refer to the doll as 'they/them'  
> (if you notice that I did miss this in the lasts chapter PLEASE let me know) 
> 
> there some spoilers of Kings Risings, so if you don't read it yet (it's your fault, it's a great book, GO READ IT NOW!!)(just kidding haha) you were warned. :)

On the first day of summer vacation, Andrew sends a message to Neil. 

_ how is your leg?  _

Yesterday, during the last game before the holidays, Neil fell awkwardly on his right leg after making a risky move. Kevin was furious with him for being reckless, but Neil countered with the fact that he had scored a goal. It doesn't seem to have appeased Wymack and Abby's fury, however, because Neil had his knee dislocated. 

At least he would have three months to improve before the season resumed. 

_ it doesn't hurt anymore  _

_ must be because of the medicine though _

_ you are an idiot  _

_ risking yourself because of a measly goal  _

_ awn, you were worried abt me  _

_ * - * _

_ i'm being realistic  _

_ i'm sure Kevin gave you a speech about it _

_ Kevin is my brother not my boyfriend  _

Andrew doesn't respond immediately and Neil is immediately nervous. Did he go too fast? He fasted for sure. It wasn't because they had been kissing for two weeks now after they confessed what they felt that they were dating. Right?

Neil was two steps away from sending another message to apologize when the arrival of a new message from Andrew lit up his cell phone screen. 

_ are we dating?  _

Neil bites his lip, desperate. 

_ I mean  _

_ I thought _

_ I don't know _

_ we don’t need it if you don't want to  _

_ I mean  _

_ Neil  _

_ hi _

_ stop talking _

_ yes or no?  _

_ for what  _

_ idiot  _

_ my god how idiot you are  _

_ you like this idiot  _

_ i'd be an idiot myself _

_ yes or no, Neil? to date me.  _

_ oh! Oh _

_ yes.  _

_ yes of course  _

_ :) _

_ now that we have this resolved _

_ do you want to come here?  _

_ we still have a job to do _

_ :)  _

_ of course  _

_ we have to finish this job, for sure  _

_ i’ll take a shower and go _

_ ok _

_ err, well _

_ my parents are out of town  _

_ and if you want _

_ but only if you want  _

_ u can stay here  _

_ i mean  _

_ neilksjsk _

_ u are inviting me to sleep in ur house? _

_ trying is a better word _

_ but yeah _

_ okay _

_ okay?  _

_ okay _

_ okay  _

_ maybe okay will be our always _

_ did you just quote the fault in our stars? _

_ i very much admire that you know john green _

_ who has been rolling two weeks to finish kings rising  _

_ I'M STILL TRYING TO OVERCOME THE SHOCK TO KNOW   
THAT LAURENT KNEW WHOM DAMEN WAS THE HOLETIME _

_ u have apoint  _

_ I’M NOT OKAY, OK? _

_ HE KNEW THE HOLE TIME _

_ THE. HOLE. TIME. _

_ i know Neil i already read this book  _

_ SOYOU UNDERSTAND ME !! _

_ you're unbelievable, Neil Josten _

_ that's why i like you. _

Fifteen minutes later, an incredibly smug and slightly shocked Kevin opened the door to Neil's room and stuck his head inside. "Andrew Minyard is here," he says, smiling at Neil, who stays blushed. Kevin kind of laughs, kind of screams when he opens the door completely, and throws himself on the bed next to Neil, taking care not to fall on Neil's dislocated knee. “Neil! Are you together? Since when? Tell me everything  _ now. ”  _

"No, get out of here," Neil pushes Kevin out of bed and before he can protest, Neil continues. "Put Andrew inside, you idiot, I have time to tell you later." And when Kevin didn't react quickly enough, Neil threw the pillow at him. " _ Now _ , Kevin!"

Kevin frowns at Neil but leaves the room. 

Neil is then aware that Andrew is going to enter his room any minute now. Sure, Neil has been in Andrew's room several times over the two weeks since they first kissed, but something about being with him in Neil's private space makes it all more  _ real  _ \- as if until then he was just floating in a fantasy. 

Neil was never able to dream of his room in perfect detail after all and there is no way it could be a dream right now. 

Neil's room is large, full of drawings posted on the walls and a few books thrown on the desk, even though he prefers to read on the Kindle. Clothes are scattered around the room, especially on the armchair by the window and on the floor beside the bed. There is a wardrobe near the door and Neil's bed is a King, even though he doesn't need all the space. 

He's also shirtless. A fact that only penetrates Neil's brain when Andrew enters and looks at him as if he were suffering. 

Neil sees Andrew swallow before entering the room completely, closing the door behind him. He has a backpack on his back and a bag in one hand. He's also wearing those damn glasses. 

Neil sighs. 

Andrew, apparently knowing the reason for Neil's misery, laughs, tossing his backpack on the armchair without caring about the pile of clothes on top and raises the arm that is holding the bag. "I brought you snacks," he says as he walks around the bed and sits on the free side. Neil leans over and raises his chin and Andrew kisses him. "Wear a shirt, Josten." 

Neil smiles. "No." 

Andrew raises an eyebrow. "Oh no? I'm sure Mr. Irwin will appreciate your comfort in my presence. ” 

“Technically, he made us have a child, so he must assume that we saw each other shirtless. Or clothless, to be honest. ” 

"You're not funny," Andrew says, but he contradicts himself right away when he tries to hide a laugh on Neil's neck. 

"I don't know what you're talking about, I'm hilarious." 

Andrew walks away and Neil almost burns when he sees the little smile that shapes Andrew's lips. Neil has never seen him smile before and he remembers spending nights awake, trying to draw his face with a smile. Remember how he tried to imagine what it would be like to have Andrew smiling at him. 

Nothing could have prepared him for that. 

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Andrew asks with a grimace. 

"Your smile," Neil replies, silly, as he raises his hand and runs his finger over Andrew's lips. "I've never seen your smile before. It's so beautiful." 

"92%, Josten. Shut up," Andrew says, frowning, but the blush on his cheeks and ears gives him away. Neil bites his lip in an attempt to hide a smile. Andrew, noticing this, gets up from bed and looks back from the room. "Where's Ari."

"My mom said if I left them here, I would never see them again," Neil shrugs. "Then she took them to her room. It's at the end of the hall." 

"I'm not going to go into Coach's room," Andrew says with an expression that clearly says how much that idea displeases him. "That's where he does ... things." 

Neil stifles a cry, "Can we  _ not  _ comment about my parents doing  _ things? _ Thanks." Neil winces. Shaking his head to get the image out of his head, he pulls out his cell phone and sends a message to Kevin. "I texted Kevin to go get it." 

"Okay," Andrew says and goes back to bed, but he did not lay next to Neil as before Instead, it begins to tidy the bed sheet where Neil is not  _ before _ returning to bed 

"Do you have a housekeeping craze, don’t you?" Neil asks when he settles down. Andrew gives Neil a hard look, but he doesn't deny it. Neil laughs. "God, you must be burning up here." 

Andrew stops looking at him, goes back to looking at the room while tapping his fingers on the mattress and Neil suspects it is a nervous tic. 

"Do you want to organize my room?" Neil asks because seeing Andrew looking so nervous is making Neil uncomfortable and it's not like Neil can get up and fix it on his own. 

"Can I?" Andrew asks and when Neil confirms, he kisses his cheek and gets to his feet, and starts to tidy up the room.

He started by separating the dirty clothes from the (partially) clean clothes until he decided that everything needed to be washed and put them in the laundry basket in Neil's bathroom. Then he went to the furniture that, according to Andrew, was out of place. Then he left the room, returning with a cloth and a bucket, where he had put two fingers of water for stay constantly watering the cloth until he removed the dust from the furniture. 

Neil smiled as she watched it because having Andrew walking by Neil’s room while sorting things left Neil with a so domestic feeling that he never thought he would have with Andrew. 

After, Andrew laid on his stomach next to Neil on the bed and Neil started to untangle Andrew's blond wires as he wanted to do for three years. 

Kevin comes in at that moment. “You made me pause a really good call with Jean to get his damn doll, Neil, I… ”he stopped talking abruptly when he noticed Neil's hand in Andrew's hair. Kevin blinked once, twice before his face broke in half with the biggest smile Neil had ever seen on him. “... I brought it! See, right here. ” Kevin rocked Ari in his hands and then placed them gently on the chair near the door. He started to retreat, walking back to the door, still smiling. "I'm going to, err, let you two, uh, to  _ work."  _

Kevin slammed the door and Neil laughed out loud. Andrew groaned with his face against the pillow and Neil laughed even harder. 

"Did Kevin know that you liked me?" Andrew asked, rolling over onto his back and looking at Neil with that expression that Neil couldn't translate. 

"I literally told him the day before we kissed for the first time," Neil says. "He, literally, also made me wear that red turtleneck shirt that I wore that day, the idiot." 

“Why is he an idiot? The shirt looked good on you. ” 

Neil knits his eyebrows together. "Because it was so  _ tight  _ and literally everyone was looking at me all day, it was extremely uncomfortable and my hair is also red, I look like a pepper," Neil says, his lips pout. 

Andrew laughs. He then leans on his arm and leans over, bites Neil's pout, and then whispers against Neil's ear. "I like how it looks on you." 

Neil has a shiver all over his body and fails to hide it from Andrew, who laughs. Idiot. "You have to stop saying these things or we are never going to do this job," Neil grumbles, but the moment Andrew walks away he feels the loss of his heat as if it were the loss of a limb. 

Andrew gets out of bed and opens Neil's wardrobe and picks up a T-shirt, throwing it in Neil's face. Neil grumbles, but Andrew doesn't listen to him, continuing to look at the room with that critical look and a hand on his chin. Then, he acts as if he had an epiphany and suddenly leaves the room. Neil stares at the door with raised eyebrows as he waits for Andrew to return. 

Andrew returns with one of the kitchen stools - which are relatively tall - and places it in front of the bed. He goes around the bed and picks up Neil's camera from the desk and places it on the bench. "I had an idea," he says, taking Ari and placing him next to Neil on the bed. "Babies don't just need physical care, they need affection too, right?" 

"Right?" Neil asks, not understanding which way Andrew's thoughts are going. 

"So let's make a video playing with Ari," Andrew responds while setting up the camera, without looking away from the device. Neil shrugs and lets Andrew guide the whole thing. 

With the camera properly turned on, Andrew lies on the bed next to Neil with Ari between them. Neil has never been with a baby before, so he doesn't know how to play with one, so he just imitates what Andrew is doing. 

They talk in the meantime, laugh, and kiss. Neil is sure he will have to cut some (many) parts, but when Andrew finally gets up to stop recording, Neil understands why Andrew wanted to record a video like that. 

They lie side by side afterward, with Andrew's head resting on Neil's shoulder and with Neil stroking his hair. They were silent, but Andrew breaks it after taking a deep breath. "Aaron and I used to do this with Ania." Andrew spins, placing half his body under Neil's body and luckily he was on Neil's right side and his injured knee would not be hit. Andrew hides his face in the curve of Neil's neck. "She liked to play with our hair, pulling on it." 

"You miss her," Neil says, running a finger over Andrew's ear. 

Andrew doesn't respond and he doesn't even need to, Neil realizes how much Andrew misses his sister every time he talks about her. 

"Do you even have a picture of her?" asks Neil. 

"None."

"Do you want me to draw her for you?" Neil questions and he is not surprised by the lack of hesitation. Usually, Neil's drawings are personal and he doesn't usually show them to anyone. The only time he showed someone any was when he designed his family for Abby’s mother's day gift and Kevin had seen some. 

Neil is also not surprised that Andrew is unaware of his talent. 

"Do you draw?" he asks, raising his head to look at Neil, who confirms it. 

"Don't be upset, but I have some drawings of you," Neil reveals it, looking at the ceiling and biting his lip. 

Andrew is silent for a while and Neil is concerned that he is really upset. Neil knows that some people don't like to be drawn or photographed without permission and he didn't know if Andrew was one of those people or not. Neil was irritated with himself for having done so many arts, so many versions of Andrew, without his permission. 

"I want to see it," says Andrew, and Neil looks away from the ceiling at him in the same second. Andrew's face shows no sign of irritation, so Neil lets it soothe himself as he reaches over and picks up the folder on Neil's bedside table, which contains the latest drawings. 

Andrew opens it and flips through it calmly, evaluating each drawing in its own time. 

Neil knows exactly the order of the photos and knows that Andrew will understand the story they tell as well as Neil knows the story. 

The first picture is of Andrew standing at the door, wearing his glasses and that smug expression on his face from the day Neil went to Andrew's house for the first time. The second was from Andrew's room, with him on his back as he walked over to the bed. The third was from him sitting on the bed. On Wednesday, Andrew was teaching Neil to change Ari's diaper. 

All of the following drawings were also representations of that night, drawn from Neil's vision. 

Andrew lingers on a drawing and Neil knows without looking that it is their drawing - the only one drawn in third person - kissing. Neil looks almost mesmerized while Andrew takes the hand and touches the drawing. "They are beautiful, Neil," he says in an almost whisper and Neil smiles at Andrew, even though he is not looking at him. 

When Andrew finally finishes, he closes the folder, places it back on the nightstand, and crawls until it is completely on top of Neil, but without placing any part of his body on top of Neil's. Andrew just hangs over him. Andrew kisses him on the nose. "My sister's drawing." Kiss the cheek. "I want to." Kiss on the mouth, but don't let it get too deep. "Thanks." 

Neil doesn't have to ask why, thanks, instead he pulls Andrew in for another kiss. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun fact, Abby and Wymack were out of town because Abby's sister-in-law is having a baby and who is Abby's brother? the FBI agent who made a link into Neil e the Wymack's HAHA   
> also a spoiler to the next chapter, Neill will officially know Nicky! what can possibly go wrong, right? 
> 
> tchauzinho :)


	6. CHAPTER FIVE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> DINNER AT THE HEMMICK-MINYARD-KLOSE HOUSE!

Later that day, Andrew and Kevin take him to the first floor. They put him on the couch, with his injured leg on a stool that Kevin has in his room. Jean smiles amiably at Neil from his seat in the chair to Neil's left, which he returns with his own friendly smile. 

"So, what are we going to watch?" asks Kevin, coming back from the kitchen with two dishes full of popcorn and sitting on Jean's lap. Andrew sits next to Neil, with the cell phone in one hand and the other placed casually on Neil's shoulders. 

"Anything with zombies," replies Andrew without looking up from his cell phone. Kevin and Jean snort, while Neil marvels at this new information about Andrew. Andrew must feel that Neil is staring at him, as he looks away from the phone and looks at Neil with a raised eyebrow. "What?" 

Neil smiles. "Nothing, just ... Zombies?" 

Andrew shrugs and goes back to his cell phone, but this time he pulls Neil's head onto his shoulder so that he has a good view of what Andrew is doing. It turns out he's texting Nicky. 

_ So, are you not coming home today? _

__

_ imma not. all good? _

_ Sure, you know I don’t care that you  _

_ sleep outside, Andrew, but I want to know where you are? _

The fact that Nicky used a question mark confused Neil for a moment before remembering a conversation he had with Andrew a few nights after they kissed for the first time. They were playing their game of truth and Andrew said that Nicky was not the type of guardian who put a lot of rules on them because he didn't want the twins to have the same needy to lie and hide that he did. 

_ at the coach's house _

_ and would you sleep there cuz…? _

Andrew sighed, kissed Neil on the forehead, and then answered. 

_ cuz I'm dating his son _

__

_ Are you DATING? _

_ ANDREW JOSEPH MINYARD, ARE YOU DATING AND DIDN'T TOLD ME? _

_ is it still okay for me to sleep here?  _

_ of course, no problem. _

_ but remember to stay safe.  _

_ BUT YOU'RE DATING!!! _

_ SINCE WHEN?  _

_ WHY I DON'T KNOW HIM YET?  _

_ ANDREW BRING HIM HERE TOMORROW  _

_ FOR A FAMILY DINNER  _

_ he can't, he's got an injury  _

_ OH, YOU'RE DATING THE RED ONE _

_ I watched your last game, saw what happened  _

_ send him better  _

_ but I still want to meet him _

_ okay _

_ good night Andrew _

_ Be safe ;) _

__

Andrew locks the phone and turns to look at Neil, who has a silly smile on his face as he looks back at him. 

"What?" asks Andrew again. 

"Nothing," replies Neil again. Andrew rolls his eyes, but takes his now free hand to Neil's chin and pulls him into a kiss that - unfortunately - doesn't last long, as Kevin starts to make sounds of  _ own  _ while Jean laughs. Neil looks at them with a frown. "Don’t you have anything better to do?" 

"We do, but we were waiting for you and your boyfriend to stop being adorable," Kevin says with a mocking smile. Andrew snorts and Neil blushes, making Kevin laugh out loud. "We are going to watch Brooklyn Nine-Nine." 

"I thought we were going to watch a movie," Neil says, sulky. He doesn't like TV shows very much. 

"I changed my mind." 

Neil takes the cushion from the couch he is on and throws it at Kevin, who dodges it while showing Neil his tongue. 

Neil has to admit that the series is good and he finds himself laughing and interested throughout the first episode and then in the second and third. Okay, Neil has to admit that he will probably watch all the episodes later. 

Neil settles against Andrew, smiling while enjoying the feeling of happiness that dominates him at that moment.

~

Two weeks later, Neil finds himself in front of Andrew's house, with Wymack helping him to get around, even though he was on crutches. 

Before ringing the bell, Wymack turns to him with that expression that says he is about to say something that makes him incredibly uncomfortable, but his position as a father forces him to say it. Neil holds back a laugh. “Look, I know your mom already talked to you, but be careful, okay? I know how the others see Minyard and I know that he is not as they think, but you are still my son. If he does something you don't like, you tell me. Understood?" 

Neil never knows how to react to the rare displays of affection from Wymack. He manages to deal with Abby and his maternal instinct, but Wymack is not that type of father and on the occasions when he is, Neil is at a loss as to how to respond. This time, however, he just smiles while looking at him. "Thanks, Dad." 

Wymack clears his throat and looks away at the house and Neil laughs, knowing he has embarrassed him. 

Neil decides to free him from his misery. "Ring the bell, old man, and we can forget about this wonderful father-and-son moment." 

Wymack mumbles something Neil can't understand and rings the bell. 

Nicky answers the door. He has remnants of flour on his face and hair, but he doesn't seem the least bit bothered by this or the fact that he's wearing an apron that has the body of an incredibly muscular guy as a print. "Hello Hello. I’m Nicky, Andrew’s guardian, and cousin. You arrived just in time. Come on, come on. ” 

Wymack helps Neil in, although Neil continues to grumble about getting around with his crutches, he ignores him. Nicky guides them down the hall to the door that leads to the living room that Neil had never been to before, despite his many visits to Andrew's home. 

"Are you going to stay for dinner, Coach?" Nicky asked after Wymack helped Neil to sit down. The easy smile on Nicky's face was a little embarrassing, especially with that apron on, and if the expression on his father's face was indicative, he thought the same thing. 

"No, it’s for the next time."

Nicky's smile became malicious. He took a step closer to Wymack, placing his hands on his hips, which caused the muscular body in his apron to wrinkle. Neil frowned. 

“Oh, Coach. I know what you're doing, ”Nicky says, accusingly. “You are running away from my food and this is very ugly, Coach. I became a very good chef if you ask me. ” 

"Hemmick, you burned a pot trying to heat water to make coffee," replies Wymack. "Sorry if I’d prefer to go back to my house and eat my wife's food." 

Neil was confused for exactly two seconds before remembering that Wymack coached Nicky in college - Neil sometimes forgot that his father also coached Palmetto's college team and not just high school. 

Nicky snorted but had no opportunity to strike back because the twins appeared in the room with equal expressions of exasperation. "I thought we talked about you wearing that apron when we have visitors?" asked Aaron and his frown increased when Nicky just shrugged and skipped back into the kitchen. 

Andrew shook his head as he looked over to where his cousin disappeared into the other room as he walked over to Neil. He sat next to Neil and kissed him on the cheek. "Hey." 

"Hi," Neil replies, smiling and a little flushed. 

"Okay, this is my clue," Aaron says in the back, leaving the room. 

Neither Neil nor Andrew design to stop looking at each other to answer him (not that he needed to) even when Wymack says goodbye to them with a "behave" to Neil. 

"Sorry about Nicky," Andrew says after a while. "He gets excited sometimes and forgets who not everyone finds an apron with a muscular body as an acceptable thing." 

Neil laughs. "It matches his personality, I think." 

Andrew agrees. Then he puts his hand on Neil's neck and Neil leans over, knowing what he wants. They kiss quietly until Aaron throws a piece of cheese at them. Andrew glares at his brother, who doesn't seem intimidated. "The lovebirds can already come to dinner," says Aaron, smiling innocently and then returns to the kitchen. 

"I should have eaten it in the womb," Andrew grumbles and stands. Neil laughs and Andrew glares at him before helping him to get to the kitchen. 

"You know I have two perfectly good crutches here, right?"

Andrew ignores him and picks him up like a bride. Neil blushes and Andrew looks smug. 

Aaron spits out the water he was drinking when he sees them, laughing hysterically. Neil scowls, but she is softened by the red in her cheeks. Nicky looks like he just won the lottery and who Neil supposes to be Nicky's husband has a slight smile on his face. 

"You guys can stop looking so satisfied now," Andrew says after putting Neil on the chair. 

Nicky and Erik wander around the kitchen at the same time, but Aaron stopped laughing just to smirk at Andrew before turning to Neil. “Neil, I think we should talk. To have a better relationship, since now you date my dear little brother. ” 

The smile on Aaron's face doesn't fool Neil for even a minute, and judging from Andrew's expression, there's something behind it. "Aaron," Andrew says in a warning tone, but Aaron doesn't even look at him, continuing to smile at Neil. 

Neil shrugs. "Sure, let's talk." 

"Neil," Andrew uses the same warning tone with him, but Neil deep down wants to know where this is going to be. 

Aaron pulls out a chair and sits across from Neil at the dinner table. "What's your favorite food?" he asks and Neil frowns in confusion, because of all that Aaron could ask,  _ that _ was the last thing Neil thought he would ask. 

"Uh, strogonoff, I guess." 

"And do you like ice cream?" 

"Aaron," warns Andrew again. 

Aaron ignores him. 

Neil looks from one twin to the other. "Not much, actually." 

"Andrew loves it," Aaron says and his smile gets impossibly bigger. "Did you know that he used to come home with a jar full of ice cream and whine about you on the living room sofa while watching bad romance movies?" 

Ah, Neil understood. Aaron was trying to embarrass Andrew. He understood the feeling, he did the same thing when Kevin brought Jean over for lunch a few days ago. 

Neil purses his lips, trying not to smile. "No, I didn't know," he says and Andrew groans in anguish beside him. "Tell me more." 

"Neil," Andrew practically begs. 

"Once, he came into my room, threw himself face down on my bed and lamented: 'why does he have to be so handsome?'" Aaron says, imitating a lament. Neil laughs and Andrew practically snarls at Aaron. "Or 'how can he not realize that I am completely crazy in love with him?'"

Andrew taps the table with an open palm. "This never happened." 

"Once we were at the ice cream parlor and you stopped by with Kevin and he said, 'I want to lick him up and down,'" Aaron continues as if Andrew never spoke. "I have many other stories ..."

"False stories!"

"... and if you want, text me and I'll tell you everything," Aaron finished, with a little smile.

Neil laughed, but he had to put a hand on Andrew's thigh to stop him from throwing himself at Aaron, who laughed out loud before getting up from the table and sitting on the counter, stealing the piece of meat from the stroganoff that Nicky was making. 

Nicky hit his hand with the spoon and Aaron grunted, returning the piece of meat and returning to the table. 

The three got into a conversation about their expectations for the semifinals until Nicky put the food on the table. They didn't speak while eating, which Neil found incredibly strange, considering the dinners at his house are incredibly loud. Nicky had made chicken stroganoff and sauce and Neil ate it twice before declaring himself satisfied. 

While Nicky took the dirty dishes to the sink and started washing them, Erik opened the refrigerator and pulled out a tray with chocolate mousse. He placed it in the center of the table before taking small glasses to divide it among the five. "So, Neil, do you already know what you're going to do in college?" he asks when everyone but Nicky is served. 

"Major in Mathematics," he replies between spoonfuls and bites. "Maybe languages too, but I still don't know which one." 

Andrew coughs. "Nerd."

"Said the guy who wants to be a lawyer," scoffs Aaron. 

"Said the guy who wants to be a  _ doctor,"  _ counters Andrew. 

"Boys," tries to calm them down Erik. By some miracle, it works. The two go back to eating the mousse as if nothing had happened. Neil couldn't help but smile at the easy dynamics between them. Seeing Andrew so light and happy while 'fighting' with his brother made Neil delight. 

"Why do you look silly?" Andrew asks in a whisper. 

Neil shrugs as he watches the details of Andrew's face, from the small, almost invisible freckles on his cheek and nose to the spine in his jaw. "Nothing. I just realized that seeing you happy makes me happy too. ” 

Andrew looks away, but Neil can see his pink cheeks. "Don't say stupid things." 

Neil laughs, taking Andrew's hand and kissing it before letting go and eating again. 

It's a good night. 

**Author's Note:**

> you can find me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/sheskyripa)


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